


Paternal

by learningthetrees



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types, Hannibal Lecter Tetralogy - Thomas Harris
Genre: F/M, Married Couple, Parenthood, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 09:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25348402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/learningthetrees/pseuds/learningthetrees
Summary: Will and Molly wait for the results of a pregnancy test.
Relationships: Molly Graham/Will Graham
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Paternal

Will sat with his back against the closed bathroom door, wondering how, in the time they’d been together, he and Molly had managed to avoid a discussion about children. Will had figured that since Willy was already in the picture when he’d married Molly, they were past that. He also assumed he could, at times, be as high-maintenance as a screaming infant. Molly had done the whole baby thing, and Will had lost the girl he’d viewed as his daughter. Now, with this unexpected possibility, Will wondered if he could be the person, the father, a baby deserved.

The door opened inward and Will fell back, catching himself before he knocked into Molly’s legs. “I’m sorry,” she said as he righted himself and turned to look at her. “I didn’t know you were there.”  
  
She joined him on the hallway floor, wearing only a too-big t-shirt emblazoned with the letters FBI. Will never wore it anymore, and he admitted it looked a great deal better on her than on him. She sat with her bare legs tucked beneath her, settling with a sigh.  
  
“Well?” Will asked, watching her expectantly.  
  
“It’s not ready yet,” she said simply. “We’ll know in a couple minutes.”  
  
“What do you…think it will say?” He wondered whether she felt differently, whether she could discern if there was new life growing inside her.   
  
But Molly only shrugged. “It’s been so long,” she said, and Will could practically see the nostalgia flow over her features. “With Willy, I didn’t know until it had already been three months.”  
  
Will averted his eyes to the floor. “What do you want it to say?” Maybe it was an unfair question—even he didn’t know what he wanted—but he had to say something. The minutes ticking by until they knew for sure were difficult enough without dead silence between them.   
  
Molly sat up on her knees to get closer to Will, forcing him to meet her eyes. She ran a hand lovingly over his stubbled jaw. “Of course I want to have a baby with you,” she whispered. “You’d be the most compassionate, loving, incredible father. You already are with Willy. And can you imagine a baby with a head of hair like yours?” She ruffled his curls. “We’d make a pretty adorable child.”   
  
She chuckled, but something she’d said hit a chord with Will. “I almost was a father,” he said softly. Molly’s head tilted in curiosity, although her eyes, locked with his, were nothing but sympathy. He’d told her about Abigail and his paternal feelings towards her, but had never mentioned Margot or the baby that never had a chance. Molly’s hands trailed from his shoulders down his arms to grip his hands in hers, leaving their intertwined fingers to rest between them.  
  
“A young woman I knew, for very personal reasons I won’t go into now, wanted a baby. I was feeling very alone, and very vulnerable, and so I tried to give her what she wanted.” He trailed off, mentally transported back to the night Margot had come to him and whisked him away with the physical affection he had so craved. What they’d done had been for all the wrong reasons, and Will was almost ashamed to recount it now.  
  
“What happened?” Molly prompted in a low voice. Will was brought back to the present, to the new baby that might be his future rather than the one that was his past.  
  
“Unfortunately, her ability to bear children was…” Will’s voice caught in his throat at the recollection of Mason’s malice. “Stolen from her.”   
  
Molly softened, wearing the sadness only a mother could understand. “Will, I’m so sorry.”  
  
“I barely got used to the idea of being a father before that role was taken away from me,” he said, a bitter tone edging its way into his voice. “But I think, beneath it all, I was afraid that I wouldn’t measure up.”  
  
Molly scooted even closer, releasing his hands to steer his face towards her again. “Will, listen to me. You already are a father. The way you are with Willy—Will, not everyone can do that. No one is a perfect parent, but, baby, you come pretty close. If we are having a baby, you will be amazing. I know it.” She brought him to her, and when their lips met, it was a confirmation that she believed every word she’d said.  
  
When they broke apart, Molly stood and crept back into the bathroom. Will peered in from his spot on the floor and watched as she picked up the test from the sink and inspected it.  
  
“Well?” he asked again, his voice barely above a whisper. At first she didn’t say anything, only continued to stare at the test.

Finally, she looked at him and slowly shook her head. “Not this time.”

He stood up, too, walking to her and pulling her into his arms. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and she wrapped her arms around him, pressing herself closer as if she wanted to disappear into him. 

“We could try again,” he whispered into her ear with a smirk. The idea of a baby, although still scary, was much more comfortable to Will now. He would always have Molly—beautiful, strong, reliable Molly—to embark on this path with him.  
  
She lifted her head to look at him, wearing an equally mischievous grin. “Let’s get started, Cowboy.”

**Author's Note:**

> Much like Molly, I also think a lot about what a baby with Will Graham’s curls would look like.


End file.
